Caterpillar Stumbles in China

An accounting scandal at a Caterpillar Inc. mining-equipment unit in China helped lead to the departure of a senior executive, a person familiar with the situation said.

Peoria, Ill.-based Caterpillar, the world's largest maker of construction and mining equipment, disclosed late Friday afternoon that it would write down the value of a Chinese mining-equipment subsidiary, ERA Mining Machinery Ltd., by $580 million. It blamed...